Too Late
by piper maru duchovny
Summary: The truth can't wait for a tomorrow that might never come. Post ep for Countdown.


**I don't know what's wrong with me but I couldn't resist the cheesy angst that this story is. One minute I was listening to Skillet on my iTunes and the next my fingers were typing this. I hope it's better than I think it is. Reviews are greatly appreciated and, as always, are reciprocated with cookies.**

**Disclaimer: I am not an owner of any part of this. I just string all the pretty words together. **

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**_Tick Tock, here the clock countdown,  
Wish the minute hand could be rewound,  
So much to do and so much I need to say,  
Will tomorrow be too late,  
Feel the moments slipping to the past,  
Like sand through an hourglass,  
In the madness I guess I just forget,  
To do all the things I said,  
Time passes by, never thought I'd wind up,  
One step behind, now I've made my mind up._

-One Day Too Late by Skillet

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The elevator doors closed as he slumped against the far wall and took a deep breath. It seemed fitting that after forty-eight hours of pure hell on earth that he would wind up here; watching her fall into Josh's embrace and going home to an empty apartment. The words had been sitting on the edge of his lips when Josh had showed up and he lost his nerve. The buttons on the control panel lit up as he made his descent to the first floor of the precinct and his second wind hit him.

They had almost died twice, three times if you counted the shootout before the freezer, and that was just too many to put the truth off for another second. He stepped out of the elevator when a bunch of uniforms stepped on and raced for the stairs. Almost tripping, he took the steps two at a time up the three floors and back to the bullpen where Beckett was collecting her things as Josh waited patiently. She turned at the sound of his footsteps and her brows furrowed adorably, "Castle, what are you doing back?"

"Can we talk?" He panted, "Alone."

"Yeah," She didn't look startled, as if she knew that he hadn't finished saying what needed to be said, "C'mon." Her fingers caught the cuff of his sleeve and she led him to the recently vacated break room.

He leaned against the counter in front of the coffee machine as his brain searched for the appropriate words, "Look, I... I don't want to screw things up."

"Castle," She looked up at him with emotions clouding her eyes, "just tell me."

"Rick," He corrected her, "I'm Rick and you're Kate. Right now... we're Rick and Kate, okay?"

"Yeah," She nodded, "Okay."

"I want you to be happy," He began, "I want you to be ridiculously, over the moon happy. I want you to smile and laugh and I want you to feel loved all the time. Whoever makes you feel that way... that's okay because I want that for you. I just... we've almost died basically three times in the last twenty-four hours and then there was the potential radiation poison before them. That's not the point... the point is we escaped death this time but I don't want.. I don't want a moment to come where one of us doesn't walk away and have you not know how I feel about you."

Tears blurred her vision, she blinked hard and glanced down at their interlaced fingers.

"I love you," His voice dropped and tears were falling from his own eyes, "I need you to know that. Whatever you decide to do that doesn't change us, okay? Even if we never move on from this point... I'm always going to be your plucky sidekick and you'll always be my muse. I just needed you to know."

"You're my partner," She corrected him with a squeeze to his fingers, "God, Rick, I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"I know, okay, I know." He promised her, "I'm not asking for anything right now... or ever. I just wanted you to know. I don't want tomorrow to be a day too late."

"Okay," She whispered and wiped her tears on the back of her wrist, "I've got to go right now but, uhm, this isn't the end of this conversation. I just... I need some time."

"I'll wait," He promised, kissing her cheek before slipping out the door.

She gave a small smile through her tears as she whispered after his retreating form, "I love you too."


End file.
